Media Literacy and Black Adolescents

• In Event: Children, Adolescents, and Media: Research Escalator 2

Abstract

Media literacy and health researchers who have examined the effect of media literacy instruction on students‘ attitudes about alcohol, the effect of increases of only one point on the smoking media literacy scale, have assumed that all components of media literacy make significant impact on adolescents‘ alcohol consumption intention. Whether and how these media literacy components affect black adolescents’ intention remains unknown. Hence, the aims of this study were to first quantitatively model how media literacy components affect black adolescents’ intended behaviour and also empirically show the component of media literacy that significantly alters black adolescents alcohol drinking intention, that is, test the strength and direction of each media literacy component as it relates to black adolescents adolescents’ attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, intention, identification with alcohol advertisements and perception of alcohol advertisements. Using the constructs of the theory of triadic influence (TTI), the theory of planned Behaviour (TPB) and the media literacy framework, the research was conducted in four distinct phases. The results showed a specific component of media literacy as the most strongly associated with the outcomes of drinking intention.

Author

• Ada Sonia Peter, Covenant University